# Decided to go a whole week without.



## billhud (Dec 31, 2007)

Without smokin' any of my beloved cobs that is. Smoked only from the briars, the last being an oil cured poker in which I'm finishing off the bowl of Penzance now. Can't say I've had a bad smoke this week, but I'll be going back to mostly cobs this evening or tomorrow.


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## SR Mike (Feb 4, 2008)

So I take it that you enjoy cobs. Is there a certain brand you prefer in cob? I have looked at the ones my B&M sells, but they seem pretty poorly made. The stem in too high in the bowl leaving a gap underneath it, or the bottom of the bowl is cracked. They carry more then just one brand. Any advice for a non-cob smoker who is interested but cannot find a cob that looks to be of quality? 


Is it just me, or am I the only one who cannot get the image of Popeye out of my head every time I see a cob pipe?


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## billhud (Dec 31, 2007)

http://www.corncobpipe.com/

I smoke the Legend.


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## Tobit (Mar 28, 2008)

billhud said:


> http://www.corncobpipe.com/


FTW!

I'm ordering some of these from Frenchy tomorrow probably for my first pipes.

- T


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## SR Mike (Feb 4, 2008)

That is the brand I saw most of the problems, I guess I need to inspect a little more and find a descent one.


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## wharfrathoss (Dec 27, 2006)

i started w/cobs, have about 7 or so, all MM-they're not made as well as Bo Nordh's, but they're less than $10!-i stil smoke them regularly along side the briars, especially for burley blends


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## SUOrangeGuy (Feb 22, 2006)

Always a cob or two in my pipe rack. Not only do they usually smoke well, they are always great for teaching friends the art of the pipe.


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## SR Mike (Feb 4, 2008)

Y'all just about have me sold on cob. When I get the chance I will pick one up.


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## Arizona (Jul 19, 2007)

SR mike,

MM's are the best of the basket cobs IMHO. Pick up one of the larger ones and not that tiny $3 model. Don't worry what it looks like, believe it or not they're a good smoke. Just stuff it and start puffing! I toss the paper filter element. It's just a sponge for all the goop is all it is. Run a couple big fluffy pipe cleaners thru it after each smoke and put it back in the rack.

I've got 4 cobs in my rotation (17 pipes total including the cobs), but the cobs get rotated thru about 2 or 3 times for each full pass thru the line-up of pipes. In other words I don't "rest" them as long as I do the briars, they get smoked like every other day rather than once a week or so like the briars. I smoke one briar per day - 2 to 5 bowls is my average per day - with a cob thrown in between each smoke to let the briar dry for an extra hour or two before I grab it again.

Relax and enjoy the cobs, dont make fun of them, they're a great smoke!


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

SR Mike said:


> That is the brand I saw most of the problems, I guess I need to inspect a little more and find a descent one.


If Elmers didn't make plain white glue then a few of my MM's would be air-leaky. As it is, all my MMs smoke fine but going a week without wouldn't measure up to tragedy.

 Heck, I thought you meant hamburgers or sex or cellphones or something.


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## billhud (Dec 31, 2007)

Mister Moo said:


> ...all my MMs smoke fine but going a week without wouldn't measure up to tragedy.


Certainly it ain't a tragedy, but the truth of the matter is that briar does not provide a superior smoke. A good tobak is great in a cob. Sometimes I think we lose sight of the fact that its the tobaks that are at the center of this activity.


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

billhud said:


> Certainly it ain't a tragedy


 No, of course not. I can exaggerate about pipe smoking tragedy sometimes. 



> but the truth of the matter is that briar does not provide a superior smoke.


 To a cob? :mn I am not the only one who can exaggerate. 



> A good tobak is great in a cob.


 Absolutely.



> Sometimes I think we lose sight of the fact that its the tobaks that are at the center of this activity.


I agree, but that could be an interesting topic for another discussion entirely.


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## billhud (Dec 31, 2007)

Mister Moo said:


> To a cob? :mn I am not the only one who can exaggerate.


I stand by my statement that a briar does not provide a superior smoke. The lowly few dollar cob isn't outdone by a more expensive briar in providing a good smoke (we just really want it to be otherwise sometimes/in some cases).


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

billhud said:


> I stand by my statement that a briar does not provide a superior smoke. The lowly few dollar cob isn't outdone by a more expensive briar in providing a good smoke (we just really want it to be otherwise sometimes/in some cases).


This is a discussion that has maybe been waltzed thru once or twice before. Taking a circumspect point of view I'd judge if you think it is that way, then it is that way.

Judge Landis or Branch Rickey was asked, "Which was the best team in baseball" and the classic reply was, "On which day?" I go that way with pipes.


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## billhud (Dec 31, 2007)

What's most important in a pipe? For me it's the quality of smokes it consistently/unceasingly provides.


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

billhud said:


> What's most important in a pipe? For me it's the quality of smokes it consistently/unceasingly provides.


I bow to your devotion for the Niblets by-product.

Hey! C'mon down to the (Raleigh) Triangle Area Pipe Show (TAPS) and I'll buy you a big baggie full of 'em if you can still stand up, hook 'm up and shuffle to the door..


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## billhud (Dec 31, 2007)

So then, what's your most important criterion in determining the value of a pipe?


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

billhud said:


> So then, what's your most important criterion in determining the value of a pipe?


I am a body in motion who changes tobaks maybe once or twice/week so the most important critera changes for me depending what I'm smoking and where I am - not an immutable thing, b'ud. You could ask a skydiver what's the most important thing about a canopy and he'd be forced into replying, "It opens when it's supposed to." But that cannot be the complete answer. The same overperforming canopy on a low altitude daytime desert cargo drop mission might not be the optimal rag for a nightime multi-element HALO jungle mission. Or so I speculate. 

I love a couple of cobs on a one day car trip or especially on a boat or motorcycle. On a longer car trip I may prefer one meer in a hardshell case. On the back porch a bigger briar seems to smoke perfectly. And, ultimately, I don't believe smoking quality is necessarily the 24/7 prime directive in Pipeville. 

Durability or convenience may come into play.
Size matters sometimes - lets face it. BIG bowls have their tobaks or their moments.
For the sake of a memory any of us might prefer pa-paws old pipe to anything else.
Aesthetics, everything else being equal, matters to many of us.
Aesthetics, nothing else being equal, may rule us at one time or another.
Ego is real. It helps one decide what is better or worse, like it or not.
For a sense of belonging - we are not all islands - a club pipe may be someones first choice with certain tobaks or at certain times. My CS Forum pipe seems to smoke Old Gowry better than any other pipe Iever smoked. Go figure.
We are subject to changing moods, tobaks, financial circumstances, memories, motivations and all that jazz. The lead dog changes from time to time. The ultimate criterion are not usually static, except with coffee, about which I have final and absolute knowledge. Thanks heaven for that.

So, you coming to TAPS?


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## billhud (Dec 31, 2007)

So you can't pick the most important criterion? Like I said, it's simple for me --- consistently good smokes as the tobaks will always be the centerpiece in my enjoyment (I too smoke several often and am working though opened tins now), so the quality of the smoke will always be paramount. To each his own. Nothing else to add, really.


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

billhud said:


> So you can't pick the most important criterion?


I guess not. I'll try again in a year.


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## Subotaj (Jan 8, 2008)

Corncobs?
Never, ever smoked that cheap shit.


p


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## pistol (Mar 23, 2006)

Subotaj said:


> Corncobs?
> Never, ever smoked that cheap shit.
> 
> p


Wow... You must be REALLY rich and classy!:r Dork


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## Subotaj (Jan 8, 2008)

> Wow... You must be REALLY rich and classy!


Rich..lol NOT!
classy? why not


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## PipesandGOP (Feb 7, 2008)

Subotaj said:


> Corncobs?
> Never, ever smoked that cheap shit.
> 
> p


Why must you disgrace the name of Israel?
Yea, they cost about :2, but why not get a few when you want to try out some different baccys


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## JacksonCognac (Nov 12, 2007)

Mister Moo said:


> I am a body in motion who changes tobaks maybe once or twice/week so the most important critera changes for me depending what I'm smoking and where I am - not an immutable thing, b'ud. You could ask a skydiver what's the most important thing about a canopy and he'd be forced into replying, "It opens when it's supposed to." But that cannot be the complete answer. The same overperforming canopy on a low altitude daytime desert cargo drop mission might not be the optimal rag for a nightime multi-element HALO jungle mission. Or so I speculate.
> 
> I love a couple of cobs on a one day car trip or especially on a boat or motorcycle. On a longer car trip I may prefer one meer in a hardshell case. On the back porch a bigger briar seems to smoke perfectly. And, ultimately, I don't believe smoking quality is necessarily the 24/7 prime directive in Pipeville.
> Durability or convenience may come into play.
> ...


Mr. Moo, I want to say as an avid cob smoker I think you bring up plenty of valid points. Which leads me to my own point(which I'm pretty sure is the point you were ultimately making); the whole cobs/briar argument in general is a little silly...

"Smoke 'em if you got 'em"


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## wharfrathoss (Dec 27, 2006)

Subotaj said:


> Corncobs?
> Never, ever smoked that cheap shit.
> 
> p


how do you know what you're missing if you never tried it?-you might be surprised, burley blends especially taste great in a cob IMO-BTW, there's a difference between cheap & inexpensive


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## parris001 (Mar 29, 2008)

Subotaj said:


> Corncobs?
> Never, ever smoked that cheap shit.
> 
> p


Come now fellows. Let's remain gentlemen here. Smoking a pipe is like driving to work. We all get there different ways but the goal is to get there. I'm going to venture to say that the age of the individual has more to do with the cob vs. briar preference than we might want to admit. For me, I smoke with two early 20s fellows that both prefer cob. And it's not that they can't afford a briar or that they have cheap tastes, I think to them they don't feel nostalgic about pipe smoking like me and some of the older members in the forum may. I think aesthetics is a huge factor for me when I'm shopping for a pipe. There isn't a pipe out there that smokes consistently 100% of the time. That's part of the challenge, finding the right combination. For folks that want it easy, there's cigarettes! So being that a pipe may occasionally be temperamental, whatever kind it is, it can and should always look nice in my personal opinion. Cob fans may,on the other hand may feel that a more expensive briar should always give a stellar performance based on it's supposed superiority. And I can see your logic. For me it's a hobby. I enjoy it and pick up unusual pipes when I can. No one here is wrong for their preference. We may just differ in our perspective. We are a brotherhood of whom there are those that wish to see us eliminated. Don't forget that. Everybody enjoy a bowl of whatever makes you happy IN whatever makes you happy.

Cheers:bl


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## billhud (Dec 31, 2007)

And the cob smokers in their late 40s? I've work hard to get to a stage in life if I want something I can simply get it. Sure, I have briars in my rack. Some factory. Some handmade, but the simple fact remains that I smoke pipes. So I can enjoy tobacco so for me the premier criterion in using any pipe is the quality of smoke it consistently provides. Certainly briars can provide great smokes, but the smoke won't be superior to that provided by a lowly cob. I'll always have a hand full of cobs and likely continue to go through my second half of life smoking them more than briars.

I'll admit that I started this thread to see just what sort of responses might indicate a regard of the cob as little more than a scourge of the hoi polloi. Sadly, I see that's the case of late in this thread.


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## BigKev77 (Feb 16, 2008)

pistol said:


> Wow... You must be REALLY rich and classy! Dork


 LOL.........delete


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## RichieR (Feb 15, 2008)

:2

So far, I've found that Escudo works best in the MM legends. MacB Vanilla Cream works best in one of those MM "natural" Pride cobs. Hal O' The Wynd works better in my briars, and some blends --I simply do not notice a difference. 

You just never know what tobacco is going to work best with what pipe.

As for the aesthetics of the cheapest cobs....I think they look great, and they are excellent conversation pieces...from my experience, most people are surprised when you explain that cobs are actually made from REAL corn cobs.

It's all good fun.


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## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

billhud said:


> *I'll admit that I started this thread to see just what sort of responses might indicate a regard of the cob as little more than a scourge of the hoi polloi*. Sadly, I see that's the case of late in this thread.


so why don't you fuggin make up your gawd damned mind.

is it the "tobacco"? or is it some stupid ass agenda you have for making a case for cobs?

and why are you TROLLING about it?

i've kept quiet here lately, but i'm growing quite sick of *YOUR* sh*t-stirring down here.

*soooo... which is it? are you a pipe smoker that is only interested in smoking tobacco, or are you a TROLL with an agenda?*
judging by your responses down here lately, and the fact you just stated you were trolling, i'll go with "troll with an agenda".
nice form. 

very sad, indeed.


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## PipesandGOP (Feb 7, 2008)

Just wanted to go ahead and say I think this is definately one of those "to each his own" topics and there's not much of a right or wrong on this but here's my rub on it.

I'm a younger pipe smoker and not a huge cob smoker just because to be honest, the asthetics as well as the fact that the two briars that I have are extremely sentimental to me and it feels weird to get anything else. One was a gift and it means a great deal to me so even though it's not the most expensive thing in the world, I make sure I take extremely good care of it, and it's a damn good pipe; the other being my great-grandpa's old pipe (was given his old cob and briar). Since he was gone before I was ever born it means alot to me to be able to smoke it because I think about all the stories I've heard about him with how hard he worked and what a good man he was and all so it's really like the only thing I really have to know him by.

Sorry, kind of got sentimental there but anyway the point is to each his own because obviously different people have different feelings about the pipes they smoke.

And the quote that says it all...


Arizona said:


> Just stuff it and start puffing!


p


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## parris001 (Mar 29, 2008)

A cob with an agenda........... why can't we all just get along? Coming in here with an agenda is pretty stupid. No one is going to change anyone's mind or preference. They are just going to make enemies and detract from the fun the rest of us are trying to have. I can respect other's opinions but don't care to be preached at or lectured to. :mn


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## billhud (Dec 31, 2007)

IHT said:


> so why don't you fuggin make up your gawd damned mind.
> 
> is it the "tobacco"? or is it some stupid ass agenda you have for making a case for cobs?


It is the tobacco. Nothing in that has changed.



> and why are you TROLLING about it?
> 
> i've kept quiet here lately, but i'm growing quite sick of *YOUR* sh*t-stirring down here.


Dissenting opinion is trolling now, huh?



> [/COLOR]soooo... which is it? are you a pipe smoker that is only interested in smoking tobacco, or are you a TROLL with an agenda?


Oh, have no doubt about it, tobacco remains paramount. The fact remains though, that some here have there noses too far in the air, and, in at least one case that point was made quite clearly.



> judging by your responses down here lately, and the fact you just stated you were trolling, i'll go with "troll with an agenda".
> nice form.
> 
> very sad, indeed.


Nice form, indeed.


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## BigKev77 (Feb 16, 2008)

> Oh, have no doubt about it, tobacco remains paramount. The fact remains though, that some here have there noses too far in the air, and, in at least one case that point was made quite clearly.


Is it not that way in everything in life, cars, houses, jobs, military branches??? If that is to much for you to hadel, get a cabin in the woods and include this in your manifesto. I was baited into flaming in another thread lets stop flame baiting.


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## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

billhud said:


> Dissenting opinion is trolling now, huh?


dissenting opinion is what YOU are getting from your TROLLING. you just stated yourself, did you not, that you started this topic to see what responses you got?? that is *TROLLING.* (<--wiki link)
you are trolling for "dissenting opinions/arguements", where YOU then show your form as a "corn-cob snob". if your intent on here is to argue, you may be fairly lonely as everyone ignores you (which i'm about to do as soon as i'm done with this post).
have we not had this discussion a few weeks ago? so what is your point now? this topic won't generate any real helpful discussion because it's based on YOUR unwavering "corn-cob snob" opinion that will never change.



billhud said:


> Oh, have no doubt about it, tobacco remains paramount. The fact remains though, that *some here have there noses too far in the air*, and, in at least one case that point was made quite clearly.


as per my reply above, you are the one that has your nose too far in the air regarding your beloved corn cobs.
if it's truely about tobacco, why the **** do you care what others smoke tobacco in? don't bother answering, not really a question, we already know the answer.

* i don't give a rats ass what anyone smokes, as long as they enjoy it. i just don't like someone judging someone else because they choose to smoke tobacco in a different type of pipe. to each his own. not exactly, or even close to, what CS was built upon.
i'm not making these replies because i dislike cobs - i own 5. i dislike the trolling attitude and snobbery present in your posts, just like many others here do, and why you won't get too many responses (ppl are sick of your trolling corn-cob snob schtick and know it's a waste of time to even discuss the issue with you because you have an agenda).


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## kheffelf (Jul 31, 2006)

I love informative threads. And also to give my opinion on this subject. I am no longer a corn cob fan, used to have about three and no longer like them. Much rather smoke a briar pipe. You can call me a snob for not liking something I don't care. Also, if the pipe doesn't smoke good, then the tobacco in the pipe won't be as good. Just for the fun of it, billhud has now had two different pipe forum members bow down to him, I just think that is funny.


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## glassjapan (Feb 15, 2006)

I'm fairly certain that Meerschaum-man knows in his heart, that his beloved white gold gives the purest tobacco kiss in the pipe world. Meanwhile Claypipeboy is busy building a small fire pit to do his bi-monthly trial by fire cleaning of the ultimate smoke facilitator since the days of Grog and Mead.
But I haven't been able to find their threads proclaiming their loves as the World Wide Champions of unadulterated pure smoking pleasure.

Hmmmm....

Maybe they figure that what they like best is best, and what I like best is best........*for me*


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## PipesandGOP (Feb 7, 2008)

IHT said:


> * i don't give a rats ass what anyone smokes, as long as they enjoy it. i just don't like someone judging someone else because they choose to smoke tobacco in a different type of pipe. to each his own. not exactly, or even close to, what CS was built upon.
> i'm not making these replies because i dislike cobs - i own 5. i dislike the trolling attitude and snobbery present in your posts, just like many others here do, and why you won't get too many responses (ppl are sick of your trolling corn-cob snob schtick and know it's a waste of time to even discuss the issue with you because you have an agenda).


(Big fat British guy voice) Here here!


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